Hiccahontas
by Darkanny
Summary: Hijack Week day seven: General AU. Pocahontas AU hijack style, nuff said.


Excitement was the emotion that could be seen on every face on the British pier, some riddled with sadness at the prospect of their men going away to discover the New World. Families said their goodbyes, friends patted each other's back, a smile on the face of every young man or experienced adventurer climbing up the wooden plank to get on board. A lonely lad, probably just turned man, walked slowly, a bag slung over his shoulder, feet bare and clothes simple. His hair so fair it appeared white, eyes so blue the ocean would turn the ship over just to reclaim the color that belonged to her. He approached the signing desk, an old man with a long white beard and a joyful smile writing down dutifully every name of the recruited crew.

"Good morning, I'd like to join the trip" the young man said, standing secure in front of the scribe.

"Dah, need your name, age and who to notify in case of trouble or accident" the big man said in a strong Russian accent, eyeing the boy from head to toe, surprised that someone so young would want to join such a dangerous excursion.

"Jackson Overland, 20, don't have anyone to notify nothing" he said at once, not seemed fazed at just admitting to being alone. Didn't seem to be a problem as the burly man nodded and wrote down the info, reaching under the desk to grab a helmet and hand it to him.

"First time traveling, dah? Need this then "he knocked his own head with his knuckles "for protection" then he turned his attention to the next man who wanted to sign.

Jack got on board and leaned against the railing to watch over the people waiting at the pier for the ship to sail. He smiled at the sight of a couple of kids running around, chasing each other and squealing with happiness. One of the kids got ahead and tripped at the same time a big carriage appeared on the road, a wooden wheel inches away from trampling the kid over.

"Jamie!" a woman, the kid's mother, yelled and reached to grab her son, holding him in her arms as the kid trembled from the adrenaline rush. The door of the carriage opened and a tall, willowy man descended gracefully from it. He wore a black tailored suit under a light steel chest armor, his hair was a raven black styled backwards, making him look even taller, skin an unhealthy ashen tone and an angular, aristocratic face looking down at the boy and the woman with petulance and disgust.

"Learn to control your brat, woman, I won't tolerate stains on my carriage" the man marched towards the scribe, a bunch of armed soldiers making a path for him to walk through.

The bearded man stood and saluted, smile all but gone from his face "General Pitchiner, nice of you to join us" he didn't seem that happy to have the lanky man on board, really.

"Save your mocking kindness for someone who actually wants it, Nicholas, I wouldn't let a bunch of inexperienced dreamers to get a hold of a land full of treasures" he said bluntly, glancing at the long list of names jotted down and sighing "such a crowded trip we'll be having, oh well, hopefully we won't be so stuffed when we arrive"

Jack scowled and sneered in disgust, who did this guy think he was, some member of the royalty? The rats climbing up the ropes were nicer looking than that guy. The rest of the crew grouped on the main desk when the General and the scribe got on board, rising the plank to signal the crew's hiring was over. The black haired man stood in the middle of the crowd, waiting for everyone to quiet down to speak.

"I'm not one for long idle chattering, so I'll just say the obvious and be done; we're here to find, conquer and explore the New World, dangers beyond compare await for unsuspecting victims behind every dirty tree and around every rock. Once we arrive, you'll be on your own if you decide to be so bold and stupid to go out alone. I just hope the mess will clean itself, I've heard wild animals have the good habit of not leaving anything behind. That's all, you're dismissed" and so he turned and left to his cabin.

"What's his problem? Can´t he see we are here to help?" Jack said to the man next to him, who only shrugged and filled his pipe.

"That's General Kozmotis Pitchiner, mate, he's a stuck-up member of some nobility that thinks he should be King, has been going everywhere to get riches and land. He couldn't care more about us, so be a good boy and take care of yourself, 'cause no one else will…well, maybe North, the scribe who registered us? He's good, talk to him if you have trouble" the man turned and left like all the men did, each one dedicated to some job or another on board.

Jack sighed. He never thought his thirst for adventure would bring such headaches.

The ship sailed, people screaming their last goodbyes and waving at them. Far ahead, the sea awaited them, its blue depths churning with the knowledge of a fate to be fulfilled.

Across the ocean, the sun shone over the vast expanses of green pine forests and brown mountains, pure white clouds lazily floating over the small village going through their daily business; fishing, hunting, herding and sowing the fields. A few children gathered around an old woman making smoke figures with throwing some powder into a fire, the kids delighting in the shapes of rabbits and otters that floated around them.

Suddenly, a loud horn call rambled through the air, everyone looking up to the guard giving off the signal: the tropes were back home.

Two figures were running through the forest, reaching a small hidden lake in the depths of it, a rock cliff overlooking it from its height. Climbing into a canoe, they reached the middle of the water body, looking around the place with concern. Finally, the one with the big mane of flaming hair looked up at the cliff, noticing a figure standing on top of it.

"HICCUP!" she yelled "GET DOWN FROM THERE, YOUR FATHER'S BACK!"

The other person, another girl with brunette hair cut short unevenly, stared up too, waving happily at the boy on the heights.

They saw the figure draw back, disappearing from view, and they turned to grab the boars and get back to the shore, believing him to be gone down the path, when suddenly the whistling sound of something cutting through the air made them focus back on the cliff…

…before a huge splash caught them by surprise and water struck from everywhere.

"Hiccup!" the redhead screamed, pulling her now limp hair from her eyes "I swear I'll kill you, you little insect!"

"Aww, where did he go? We have to get back soo-WOAH!" the brunette yelled as the canoe they were in suddenly turned, dropping them into the water down the now upside-down boat.

Laughter could be heard, echoing in the encased space and bouncing on the water. The girls surged with a gasp, one looking murderously at the auburn haired boy floating at the other side, the brunette girl laughing too and splashing water at the boy.

"You little…" a smaller splash was heard, a small black lizard snaking under the water to come over to the boy and jump into his shoulder, nuzzling his head and smiling toothlessly at the girls "…nevermind, let's just get out of here" the redhead swam under the edge of the canoe and came to the outside, followed suit by the other two.

"Meridaaa, why can't you have some fun once in a while?" the boy asked, turning around the canoe with the help of the girls.

"Because we're not supposed to be having fun when the tropes just returned, Hiccup, we're supposed to be there, YOU are supposed to be there, someone has to welcome your father, you know?"

"But maybe they haven't arrived yet?" the short-haired girl asked tentatively, her green eyes glancing towards the forest they've come from.

"Maybe, but we are the ones in charge of Hiccup, Punze, we have to make sure he's ok when the Chief is gone" they swiftly climbed back into the boat, Merida squeezing water from her hair, the other two just shaking their heads. Hiccup sat at the far end, facing the girls while they grabbed the boars and started the trip back.

"Hic, are you okay? You've been coming here a lot lately" Punze asked softly, waking the boy from staring into the distance.

"It's nothing, just…this _dreams_ I keep having" he sighed, resting his chin on his hand "they're so weird, I don't know what they can mean"

"Maybe we can help" Merida said, jumping out of the canoe before it touched the shore and dragging it the rest of the way "come on, tell us"

Hiccup looked around meekly, then bit his lip and sighed once more "Ok, but don't tell me I'm crazy later…they are always the same, I'm on the waterfalls, jumping from rock to rock, only Toothless is with me" he smiled at the small lizard perched on his arm "but then, there's a loud noise, like thunder coming from the sky, and then, the ground begins to shake! But I don't feel scared, more like anxious about something…and then I start running, I run and run and run but I can't move from my spot, then everything goes pitch black…." He stopped a bit to catch his breath, having released all in one go.

"Aaaaand?" Merida urged him to continue.

"And then…then the darkness starts to break…like it's shattering, and everywhere it breaks, it starts snowing, until there's nothing but white; the waterfalls are frozen, the water is ice, and everything is covered in snow…and then I feel at peace, not cold at all…and I wake up"

The girls looked at him for a moment "You're crazy" the redhead finally said.

"Hey! I told you not to call me that!"

"I never agreed" she grinned then, starting to walk and signaling the others to keep the conversation on their way home.

"I don't know, Hic" the brunette girl looked worried "Maybe you should ask your father about this, he is the Chief, he is bound to know about, well, everything" she smiled at him, draping her arm over his shoulders "But if you don't feel comfortable with that, we can try and figure it out ourselves"

Hiccup smiled back "Thank you, Punze" he then glared at the curly-haired girl "Thank you too, Merida, at least for listening" the girl made a dismissing gesture with her hand. Suddenly the blaring horns resounded again "We better hurry, they're almost there"

"Now, what did I tell you?"

Cheering from the crowds welcomed them at the village, Hiccup running ahead to the outer edge of the crowd, but without being able to get through the thick crowd, having to get a bit far behind to actually get a look at his own father, standing next to their tent and ready to talk to his people.

"My friends, we have reached victory! The Berserkers have been thrown back into their lands and they won't try to invade us anymore, that I assure you!" the booming voice of Stoick resounded through the forest, bringing more cheering from the people "And I'm proud to honor our fiercest warrior, who fought bravely and with a strength superior than that of any man, Astrid!" a beautiful blonde girl with a tight braid came forward, scratches all over her face, arms and chest, only making her look fiercer added to the fiery blue eyes that looked all over the place with superiority. The Chief then grabbed a necklace made from bear and cougar claws, placing it around her neck as a token for her braveness.

Merida mocked what the Chief had just said "_Oh she's so brave, she's so great, let's give her a gift so she can be even more insufferable, why not_" Punze tried to contain her laughter and elbowed her lightly, Hiccup just rolled his eyes and went forward as the people finally dispersed, following his father into their tent.

"Dad!" he entered just as Stoick was getting his war-gear off, accommodating his arm bracers in a chest.

"Son, good to see you're still here" he chuckled, remembering how he and his second in command, Gobber, joked about how maybe Hiccup would be confused by a twig and taken by the beavers "Come here and tell me how have you been these weeks while I was gone"

Hiccup walked behind his father as he checked around that everything was as he left it "Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about, you see…" but he was suddenly interrupted by his father.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you" he turned and stood in front of his son, beefy arms on the bony shoulders "I found you a wife"

"Oh that's wonderf-wait, what?!" he jumped away, stepping back in astonishment "H-how could you even _find_ me a…you were gone for _weeks_ so you possibly couldn't….oh no, please tell me it's not-"

"Astrid will be a good wife, son, she's strong, smart, will give you good children and-"

"NO! Oh gods, are you even listening to yourself? Astrid, are you serious?!" Hiccup completely lost it, he moved his arms frantically around, stepping with more force than necessary "That woman has no soul, it's like-like something grabbed her as a baby and put an endless black pit where her heart should be, it's like talking to a rock!"

Stoick frowned "Hiccup, I know what's good for you, and what's good for the village, please don't be difficult about this. I will give you some time to get used to the idea, but you _will_ marry her and that's final" he then stretched his hand in front of him "Deal?"

Hiccup stared at the hand, frowning himself "This conversation is feeling very one-sided"

Stoick glared and spoke a bit more forcefully "_Deal_?" seeing how the brunet still wouldn't seal the pact, he sighed and turned around, grabbing something from a shelf Hiccup never was able to reach due to his short stature. It was a leather bound wooden box, from which the Chief pulled out a beautiful blue necklace with a single drop-shaped silver bead in the middle, holding it on his hands for a minute before handing it to Hiccup "This was your mother's…she wore it the day of our wedding, and it's one of the few things I have left from her…I want you to give this to your future wife when you think the time comes" he then enclosed the smaller hands with his own, securing the necklace in place.

Hiccup stared at the gift in astonishment "Dad…I…I can't, this is too important for you, I can't just give it away!"

"Then keep it with you until you feel it's the moment to give it away" Stoick definitely wasn't listening to his son, so the small teen just sighed and turned to leave.

"…thanks for trusting me with it, anyway…I'll be on the river for the rest of the day" and then he left, clutching his hand tightly around the memento of his mother. Merida and Punze had left to do their own chores, now that Hiccup's father was back their babysitting services were not required, so the brunet decided to head to the river alone, Toothless jumping from the branch he'd been waiting on and landing on the soft tuft of auburn hair.

"I don't know what to do, Gothi, everything is going the wrong way, I can feel it!" Hiccup was kneeling in front of a really big and really old willow, a stump being his only leverage to be eye-leveled with the wrinkly face protruding from the tree trunk.

"Tell me, my boy, what is bothering you so?" the woman said sweetly, branches coming to lift the freckled boy's chin and getting him to sit a little straighter.

"My father wants me to marry Astrid" he said bluntly, smiling at the face the willow made "and…I've been having these…dreams"

She went back to smiling wisely "I see, can you tell me what these dreams are about, little one?" she listened patiently as the boy repeated his dreams once more, another branch coming to scratch under her chin "Hmmm…I see"

"Do you know what they mean?" Hiccup said excitedly, could she really tell him the meaning of the darkness and snow?

"The only thing I can tell you now is that you must open yourself to what surrounds you, only then will you be able to understand what your dreams are about" a soft wind started to blow, leaves floating around them "Your fate is tied to the land, let her tell you what she want to say" she then started singing a soft song in an old language, the wind floating a bit faster, twirling around Hiccup as he got up and closed his eyes, feeling something blowing through his body like a soft caress. And then he heard it. A voice, calling him, '_come see the clouds, aren't they strange today?'_

"Strange clouds?" he asked softly, reaching to climb the willow's trunk, Toothless slithering quickly after him. Reaching the top, he watched in astonishment as some weird shaped white clouds passed over the tree-top line in direction of the forest. Were this clouds related to his dreams? Could there be the answer to his questions?

Jumping down the branches, he climbed into his canoe and, saying goodbye to the old tree, coursed for the forest the clouds were heading to.

Jack had never had a more terrible experience in his life.

At first everything looked fine, the ocean was calm and the winds tame, so no one gave attention to the small droplets falling from the sky, until it turned into an all-out storm. A man had fell over the railing into the sea, and on impulse he'd thrown himself with a rope attached to his waist, reaching the almost drowning man in the middle of the raging sea and making the crew pull them back on.

Almost vomiting half the ocean he'd swallowed, Jack found himself with a blanket over his trembling shoulders and strong pats to the back, everyone calling him a hero and offering him to go to get warmed up inside, until 'Pitch' had appeared and ordered everyone to keep working to keep the ship afloat, including Jack and the almost drowned man.

Oh how he was starting to really hate this guy.

"A shore! We've arrived!" someone yelled from the front of the ship, Jack coming out of his cabin to be taken aback by the sight.

The land they've arrived to was covered in green, forests and bushes whenever the eye reached, the water so clean and pure the bottom could be seen, a few fishes swimming around. The blending of the blues and greens of sky and lush vegetal life were a sheer beauty like none he'd seen before, so much nature surrounding them, the chirping of birds coming from everywhere like the sweetest music in the world. Mountains reached the clouds and rumbling waterfalls could be heard at a distance.

Jack grinned, almost jumping to the boat waiting for him to go make a preliminary exploration of the place. After a quick surveillance, they deemed the place safe and the ship anchored, the rest of the crew getting down to set the camp.

Hiding behind some bushes, green eyes stared wide at the strange pale men with the weird pelts pouring from a boat the size of a hill. He was scared, these were people like he'd never seen before, were they dangerous? Friendly? Could they talk or were they like animals, only getting near for food and fight?

A thunderous noise startled him when a gigantic pine fell to the ground, making it shake furiously, two of the men holding a weird, thin thing with teeth next to the now dead stump. He felt his eyes water as he recognized the noise and tremor from his dreams, they were the same!

_"Are this people what my dreams were telling me about? What should I do?"_

But then another noise, something more familiar, caught his attention. Branches rattling. Something was coming closer!

The bushes he was hiding in were overlooking a small rocky edge, from where the noise turned louder until a pale hand appeared, hauling up its owner onto the rock. It was a strange man, white from head to toe, smiling and touching and watching everything and everywhere. He turned to watch over the camp, frowning at seeing the amount of trees being chopped down.

"Do we really have to destroy this place like this? Damn Pitchiner" his voice was deep and said something in a language Hiccup couldn't understand, but he seemed upset about something, maybe if he was careful he could get a little closer…

"…ack, Toothless, no! Come here!" the slippery reptile, curious as his human friend, boldly went forward and started sniffing at the stranger.

The white haired man looked down upon felling something rubbing against his foot, grinning at the small thing "Hey there, lil' fella, where did you come from?" he kneeled and carefully scratched the neck of the animal, earning himself a satisfied purr. The lizard looked at Hiccup and chirped at him to join him, this person was nice! "What is it? Do you have a friend in there?" Jack got closer as the brunet got farther away, until he hit a wall rock. Just as he was about to be discovered, however, a voice called over.

"JACKSON! COME HERE AND HELP THE OTHERS RAISE THE WALLS!" Pitch's voice hurt his ears, but it got the man to back away and climb down the rock.

Running as fast and quietly as he could, Hiccup left the place.

"Ok everyone, this will do for now, go get some rest!" Nicholas shouted, the crew grunting and soothing their aching backs. Jack didn't have time to relax, as he was still hyped and wanted to explore. He ran away from the camp, through the forest, across rivers, over mountains, until he felt exhausted enough to stop at the feet of a waterfall, kneeling over one of the rocks to cup some water in his hands and drink greedily, tasting the sweetness of it as he did.

A flash of movement from the corner of his eye alerted him; something was in the bushes to the far left, maybe a wild animal. Reaching for his rifle and adjusting his helmet over his head, he jumped soundlessly from one rock to the other, stopping some distance away from the bushes and pointing his weapon at them.

Then they moved again.

Hiccup had gotten curious about the stranger, and so he'd followed him after he'd ran into the forest, reaching the waterfall and remembering his dreams once more. He hid in some bushes, but wasn't careful enough, as he noticed the man noticing him as well, grabbing his metal stick and getting closer. Hiccup decided this was the right time, it was this or surely getting attacked.

He got up.

The rifle slowly descended, his arms going limp and eyes wide as a slender form, undoubtedly human raised from the bushes.

It was just a boy, a teen really. He was at least half-a-head shorter than himself, with shoulder length, messy auburn hair covered in droplets from the falling water. He had sun-kissed skin covered in freckles, a round, childish face and big, shining green eyes looking straight at him. He was wearing a one-shouldered tunic-like cloth from what seemed deer hide, a leather belt securing it tightly around his body and marking a surprisingly tiny waist. He was obviously a Native from this lands.

And also the most beautiful thing Jack had seen in his life.

He tried to get closer, but as soon as he took a step forward, the boy ran away, swift like a deer escaping from hunters. Jack ran after him, calling him over and telling him to stop but to no avail, the kid didn't understand him or just didn't hear him.

Reaching a river, the boy tried to get away in a canoe, but Jack caught it and held it in place, raising one hand to show he was unarmed and meant no harm "Calm down, it's ok, my name's Jack, I won't hurt you" the brunet seemed not trusting and tried to get away again, until the wind picked up softly and, just like before, twirled around him, just this time including the man in front of him. Slowly, the strange words the man had been saying became understandable and he stood, getting down from the canoe and standing in front of the taller man.

"Hiccup" he said, looking into the pools of tame water that were the other's eyes.

"What?" 'Jack' tilted his head, confused. Hiccup laughed and spoke again.

"My name is Hiccup"

"53, 54, 55…oh no"

"Something wrong, Nicholas?"

The tall figure of the General loomed over the jolly man, staring into the abacus he was holding in his hands, glaring at the sole piece of wood standing alone at the bottom.

"Now, now, what is _that _doing there, exactly?" he was menacing as he spoke, looking around the place and noticing a very noticeable head was missing "Where's the little 'hero' I wonder, didn't he know he had to stay close least he wants to be killed by the savages?"

"Jack probably just lost motion of time, will be back soon" North said, staring worriedly at the forest, hoping to see a head of snow coming from it any minute now.

Pitch scowled "He better, if he knows what's good for him"

"Hel-met"

"Hel-met"

"Very good!"

Jack and Hiccup had sat down under a tree next to the river, talking about who they were and what they were doing there, finally getting to the part of the strange objects the pale man was wearing.

"You have very weird names, 'helmet', 'compass', 'Jackson'" Hiccup laughed, putting the helmet on his head, but it was too big and fell over his eyes, making Jack chuckle at how cute he looked.

"Hey, they're not that bad, what does 'Hiccup' even mean, anyway?" Jack took the helmet and placed it properly on the small head, lingering a bit to touch the soft tresses.

Hiccup seemed embarrassed by the question "It means 'runt', is given to the smallest one of a generation"

"And that'd be you, then?" Jack smiled and leaned back on the grass, arms crossing behind his head as a pillow "It isn't that bad, 'Jackson' means 'son of peasant'"

"Hmmm, it suits you"

Jack sat abruptly "What?! Do I really look that bad?" he started looking at his clothes, and then at his bare feet, wriggling his toes a bit "I guess I do"

Hiccup laughed and got closer, touching Jack's feet with his own, comparing the size and color "…we're not that different, you know, maybe our colors may be different, but isn't a leaf bound to change when Autumn comes?" he stood up and walked to the big tree they were under "Being different isn't that easy, anyway" he murmured, touching the rough bark where a single sprout grew far away from the big branches.

"You tell me that" Jack's voice was suddenly behind him, and he spun around so fast the necklace he'd been saving in a fold of his clothes fell to the ground "What's that?" Jack picked it up and held it in front of him.

Hiccup tried to get it back, but Jack's hands were to high up and wouldn't let him reach "Please, give that back!" he tried getting the man to lower his arms but to no avail, Jack kept on walking away from his reach. He sighed "It's a gift from my father…it was my mother's, I'm supposed to give it to my future wife" he hugged himself at remembering his forced fiancée, wondering if he'd ever be happy with that stone-faced woman.

Jack looked at him and then back at the turquoise necklace, walking in front of Hiccup with both ends in hand "Raise your head"

"Huh?" Hiccup did as told, gasping when cold hands got around his neck and a clasp was held behind his long neck, looking down at the jewel now resting over his collarbone. He stared at Jack wide-eyed, touching the silver bead softly. It was cold.

"Perfect" Jack smiled and took a step back, admiring how the cold color contrasted with the tan skin "Now you won't risk losing it"

They stood there for a while, Hiccup staring down at the necklace and Jack staring at Hiccup instead. Green eyes stared up and locked with blue. A hand coming up slowly, but before he could reach his objective over the pale face a voice called from the woods

"Hiccup! Where are you, you midget! We have to go!" Merida's voice got closer and closer, just in time drums could be heard from the village.

"I have to go!" he tried to run away, but a strong hand held his arm "Jack, I can't stay, the drums-"

The hand holding his arm held his hand instead, Jack leaning to kiss the tan knuckles softly before letting go, Hiccup's cheeks turned a bright red before stumbling and getting to run again.

Jack sighed and smiled, looking at his helmet laying on the ground, putting it back on his own head and walking back to camp.

"What's going on? Something happened?" Hiccup asked breathlessly, reaching the village with the girls on tow.

There was a small crowd outside the main tent, the rest of the village probably already inside. Making his way inside, his eyes widened at the sight of one of the warriors laying down on a cot, a bleeding wound on his side, Gobber trying to understand what had caused the wound. He sighed and shook his head, declaring he'd never seen something like that before.

A patrol had gone to check out the origin of the noise that rumbled through the forest, and found the white men chopping down the trees to make what looked like a big wall. They'd been quiet and stealthy, but one of the men noticed one of them in a bush and gave the alarm, all of them running to grab some weird looking sticks that spat fire and thunder, some of them even going forward to fight hand to hand with the 'spies', until one of them was hurt by the weird weapon and fell to the ground. That'd been the moment for their retreat, the invaders cheering and going back to work like it was an everyday occurrence.

Stoick looked down on the pain filled face of the poor man, before directing his voice to the people "This pale men are dangerous, we can't let them come and take everything we've worked for so hard that easily!" murmurs agreeing could be heard all around "We will fight back if it's necessary, and claim back what is rightfully ours!" this time there was yelling, heads nodding frantically and hands fisted in the air, ready for any battle that would come.

Astrid stepped forward, an axe gleaming threateningly on her hand "I'll see to it myself that we're well fit to take down these invaders, Chief, to make sure none of them leave this lands with all his limbs intact" Stoick nodded, not catching the small form of his son moving away quickly from the tent.

"Hiccup, there's nothing we can do, why do you even care so much about this white people?" Punze said, balancing a small basket on her hip with one hand while picking some corn with the other. They had gone to the fields a couple of days after the announcement to distract Hiccup from the news that for some reason perturbed him so much, both girls picking food while the boy sat on the ground, drawing on the dirt with his finger.

"I can't tell you, you wouldn't understand" he sighed, erasing the drawing he'd made that looked suspiciously like a man with spiked hair "I've gotten myself in a mess" he hugged his knees to his chest and hid his face in them.

"Now there, wee lamb, whoever told you we won't understand? You've done quite the messes in your life, I wouldn't be surprised by anything you pulled out no-"

"Hiccup!"

"Woah!" Merida dropped her basket as a man appeared from the corn plants, speaking with a weird accent what was definitely the boy's name.

"Jack! What in the name of the gods are you doing here?!" Hiccup jumped to his feet as fast as he could, grabbing the man and pulling him aside "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"But I missed you already" Jack smiled brightly, none of the words in the conversation being understood by the astonished girls fighting the urge to run to the village and tell everyone that one of the pale men was here "So I escaped the camp to find you!"

"Hiccup…?" Punze asked warily, getting from behind Merida, who had jumped in front of her instinctively "W-who is this man and why do you understand him?"

Hiccup face palmed in exasperation "Look, I'll tell you guys later, ok? I got to take this idiot away from here, please promise me you won't tell anyone" he pleaded, eyes close to watering from the sudden idea of getting his new friend killed.

"Hiccup…" the brunette girl sighed and nodded, which Hiccup took as cue to grab the pale hand and run away "Oh gods, what are we going to do now, Merida?...Me-Merida? Where are you going?" she asked as the redhead made her way up the path to the village.

"I'm going to find someone to deal with this"

"But we promised to not tell anyone!"

"I never agreed"

Finally reaching a clearing, Hiccup released a panting Jack, standing stiff in front of him with his arms crossed and frowning.

"Woah, you are faster than you look, you know?" Jack found his breath again after a while, standing straight and looking down at the boy "Or you just wanted to be alone with me that bad?" he winked and smiled at the way pink appeared on the freckled face, but sighed when Hiccup didn't change his posture.

"Jack, you can't just appear in the village like that! If someone else had found you, you'd have an arrow going through your heart right now!" he sighed tiredly, al the mental stress just as bad as the physical one, one hand rubbing his aching forehead "We can't be out here, someone might hear us. I know a safe please, but you can talk about it to anyone, got it?"

"Yes sir" he saluted, and Hiccup pulled him to the river, getting him on a boat and sailing.

Well, the talking willow had been a surprise, alright. Not every day a tree told you you were quite handsome. Not that he was complaining though.

But even more of a surprise had been knowing that the riches and treasures Pitchiner wanted to take from this land didn't, in fact, exist.

"So we came here and destroyed half of the forest for nothing…now I feel terrible" he sighed. All this trip, all the near death experiences, all the abuse from the damn General, and nothing, just miles and miles of untouched nature waiting to be destroyed by 'civilized' hands "I wonder if the bastard would listen to me if I tell him he's completely wrong about everything"

"The guy with the black hair? Good luck with that, son" the willow answered, frowning ay the memory of a little rabbit coming to her with a wounded paw to tell her about savages attacking everything on sight, with a very accurate description of the tall man.

"But if he's trying to find gold, he probably won't stop until every piece of ground have been turned around and every tree cut down" Hiccup said, looking through a notebook from Jack's bag and flipping through the pages "What's this?" he asked Jack at the drawing of something really pretty and with a weird shape on the notebook.

"That's a snowflake, you have snow here, right?" he said smirking, he would ask that every time Hiccup wondered what the things on the leather bag where.

"Of course we do, don't be ridiculous" he punched him lightly on the arm "But I've never seen a single snowflake, it's always in clumps" he traced the lines with his finger "It's so beautiful…"

"Yeah…beautiful…" Jack said, but wasn't precisely looking at the snowflake on the paper. A loud throat-clearing got them from their respective daydream and both boys looked at the woman on the tree.

"It seems we have visit"

A stomping sound got their attention, Hiccup hiding behind the trunk upon recognizing it as the boot of one of the pale men. Jack stood, sighing with relief at the familiar white beard from the scribe, Nicholas walking up to him with a smile on his face.

"Jackson! There you are boy, been looking everywhere for you, need everyone at camp now" he said gleefully, taking in the surrounding area "Very nice place, pity to have to follow orders from Pitch, probably will have it destroyed as well" he sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a frown.

"Yeah, that guy is an idiot" Jack glanced back at the cowering form of Hiccup, who was pointing to the ground and the at the sky, making a downwards arc with his finger _'come here at night'_ "We should get going, then, don't want to keep his majesty waiting"

Hiccup watched them leave, coming back to sit on the stump in front of the willow "He left his things here…" he grabbed the notebook, once again tracing the pattern of the snowflake, suddenly remembering something "Snow…"

"So you remember that part, then" the willow smiled softly, touching the kid's forehead with a branch "That man is special, he is written in your fate, I can feel it on my roots"

"Is he the snow from my dreams?" he remembered the man, his too pale skin and white hair, eyes blue as frozen water and a blinding smile, like the sunlight bouncing on ice. He flushed slightly at the thought "It's like he's made of it, how I didn't notice before…"

"Maybe you were focused in other part of him…"

"Gothi!" Hiccup flushed more at the willow's taunting laugh.

The ground trembled under the fast steps of the running boy, his breath ragging as tears ran down his face.

He had come home later that day, only to find three of the neighboring villages' chiefs and best warriors gathered together, his father having called them to ask for help for the imminent attack he was planning on the pale invaders.

"Jack!" he shouted upon arriving to the willow, the taller man already there, playing with some small animals at the roots of the tree.

"Hiccup?" Jack stood, meeting him halfway and holding him tightly in his arms as the brunet trembled and sobbed "Hiccup! What's wrong? Please tell me!"

Hiccup sniffled and fisted Jack's shirt tightly "They…they are going to attack you!"

"What?! Who?" Jack held his bony shoulders, coming closer to the freckled face of the native boy.

"M-my father, he's called help from other villages, they plan on attacking your camp at sunrise!"

"Shit" Jack looked around, making sure no one from the camp had followed this time "This is bad Hic, Pitch is planning on attacking your people, he's sure you have something valuable hidden and wants to take everything he thinks you have"

"What are going to do?" Hiccup stared up at him with green eyes shining with unshed tears, Jack shook his head, not knowing what to say "All this could have been avoided if we've never crossed paths"

Jack raised his chin with a finger "Hiccup, look at me, I'd rather die tomorrow than live 300 years without knowing you"

Hiccup blushed and smiled at him, then held his hand firmly "You have to come with me, maybe if we talk to my father he'd understand this is all a huge mistake!"

"I don't know Hic, what if he thinks it's a trap?"

"You won't know until you try" both turned to look at Gothi "Stoick is a thick-headed man, but he has a good notion of what's right and wrong, if you try to convince him to avoid this war, he might listen"

Jack stared back at Hiccup, a quivering smile blooming on his face at the prospect of Jack coming with him and finally stopping this whole mess "…Ok, I'll go" Hiccup laughed relieved, and grabbed Jack's hand to lead the way, but a pull made him tumble backwards and turn back around to face Jack.

Cold lips were on his own, pressing softly in a tentative way that seemed almost desperate for answer. Hiccup wrapped his arms around Jack's neck and pulled him down, kissing back with as much force as he could, the until now unknown feeling sending shivers down his spine. The breeze seemed to coil around them like a soft blanket keeping them together, until a whistling sound forced them to separate and jump to avoid the sharp axe coming their way, missing them and getting stuck on the stump behind them.

"Astrid…" Hiccup said as the angry blonde stepped out of the foliage, marching towards the pale man and stopping when the brunet jumped in front of him.

"Hiccup, move aside, I'm going to kill this intruder and then you're going to have to answer to your father for this treachery" she moved to throw him aside, but Hiccup dropped to the ground and clung tightly to Jack

"If you're going to kill him, you'll have to kill me too" he said strongly, eyes daring the woman to make a move. Astrid's fingers twitched, and then, after a painfully longtime, her arms dropped limp to her sides, a sigh leaving her mouth.

"Why are you compelled to risk your like for this white trash instead of trying to help your father protect our land?" she asked, for the first time in her life her eyes a bit softer, expression in open invitation for words instead of punches.

"We don't have to fight them, they're not that bad, it's their leader, the grey man who brought them here, the one who we all should be fighting. We can't lose so many lives for a war so senseless" Hiccup stood a little on his spot, still clinging to Jack but loose enough to face the girl.

Astrid looked at him for a moment, then turned and stared at the red fire marking their village in the distance "If you want to stop a war, you better run, they're getting ready to attack" a blur of brown and white passed next to her as both boys ran towards the village. The blonde sat down, feeling strangely light at the fact of just having someone so small stand so strongly against her. It felt…nice to talk instead of fight, even for once.

"He's such and idiot" she said out loud.

"And that's what makes him so special, right?" she smiled at the voice of the willow behind her.

"Yeah, I suppose so"

Convincing his people that Jack was a friend and not a spy was harder than he thought, Hiccup had to shout as loud as he never had shouted to get them to listen, everyone gaping at the sudden change of personality of the small runt. Merida and Punze had stepped up to him at some point, offering his support and an apology from the redhead, telling him she'd been the one who told Astrid about the man. Gobber was also open to dialogue, trusting the boy that he'd known to be the most honest person in the land, but Stoick still deemed Jack an invader and ought to be thrown into jail for merely being there.

"Dad, this is serious, if you don't do something to stop this-"

"Then we lose everything, that's how we deal with intruders, son, we chase them out and make sure they don't return"

"For once in your life would you please just listen to me?!" Hiccup yelled, Stoick was taken aback by the raise in his son's tone "They are going to attack us to get something we don't have, and if we don't set this straight it doesn't matter if they leave, more will come and we'll all die at the end!"

"That's true, sir, I can assure you there will be more people coming for riches in the upcoming years" Jack said, having learned a bit of the native language while being with Hiccup "If we don't fix this, none of us will have a peaceful life from now on"

Stoick stared impressed ta the man in front of him, just how long had he been around his son to be talking to him in his own tongue?

He stared down at the boys, then around at his people, who were watching at them with a clouded expression, not knowing if they should believe the pale man or the Chief's son, and leaving the final decision to Stoick. He sighed and walked to his tent "Come with me, we'll talk about this in private" then both boys got into the tent with him, ready to try and convince him to stop all this madness at once.

The sun rising cast shadows over the ground, shadows that moved along with the men marching towards the native village, weapons at hand and ready for a surprise attack. Nicholas stood stone-faced at the first line of attack, torn between not really wanting to do this and the thought of Jackson not coming back to camp last night. Pitchiner stood proud and tall at the head of the small army, his steel armor shining a bloody red with the light shining down on it.

Reaching the outlining of the village's territory, they stopped at the sight of the tribe standing in front of them in its totality, the Chief and two persons next to him, one a small, brunet boy, and the other one…

"Overland! What in the blazes do you think you're doing?!" Kozmotis snarled, horrified at the sight of the youngest member of his expedition standing with the enemy, wearing their clothes and even his face painted with tribal markings.

Nicholas sighed relieved; at least he was ok, more than ok if he took in the comfortable stance he was in, as if he'd found somewhere to belong to, and even smiled as he noticed him holding tightly the smaller boy's hand.

"I'm doing what's right, Pitch! You just try and take over this land, see if you find something apart from pebbles and roots!" Jack shouted back, standing in front of Hiccup and glaring at the tall man in front of him.

"Why you little…I knew bringing such an inexperienced kid looking for fun was a bad idea, I should have thrown you to the ocean when I had the chance…I won't lose this chance, though" and so he raised his rifle and pointed to the white haired head, the bullet getting stuck to the ground when Nicholas pushed him aside, making him fall and lose his grip on his weapon.

"I can tolerate destroying forest, forcing all hard work on us and risking getting killed by wilderness, but not-" his blue eyes blazed at the man on the ground "Trying to kill an innocent man"

All around them the British crew murmured, all already tired of the abuses the General had upon them, two of them walking forward to grab the man and tie him up

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DO-MMHPHHH" his mouth was covered with a piece of cloth, stopping any words coming from his rotten mouth.

Nicholas glanced at Jack, who now had walked up to him with Hiccup on tow, smiling at them and nodding at the white haired boy "You done good, Jackson, you done good" and then he left and followed the army carrying a squirming and shouting Kozmotis over their head, all chattering and laughing, planning what to do with the man upon returning to England.

A big hand grabbed Jack's shoulder and patted it, both boys turning to the smiling face of Stoick, before the Chief lead the tribe back home, all surprised at how easy it had been to get rid of the menace without even fighting.

"Guess we all really hated the same man at the end, uh" Jack said, referring to the way all the invaders had been against the black haired man as soon as he raised his weapon against him. He glanced down at Hiccup, the sunlight making his hair look like a warm fire and his eyes a shining hazel, freckles standing out against soft skin. He grinned and held his hand tighter.

"So many people can't be wrong, it had to be work of a single mind, after all" Hiccup smiled and pulled Jack along, guiding him back to the old willow.

Upon arriving, Hiccup took off his necklace and asked Jack to bow down, putting it around the white neck and lingering his hands over the soft, pale shoulders of his lover, before suddenly pulling him down and kissing him deeply, shivering as the cold hands of the other wrapped around his waist.

"Isn't your future wife supposed to wear this?" Jack whispered against the warm lips of the small boy, eyes half-lidded and shining with all the love he could feel towards the brunet.

"It suits you better, makes your eyes stand out" Hiccup pecked him quickly "And I think I'd rather the word spouse"

Jack chuckled lifting Hiccup by the waist and kissing him once more "I love you, you know?"

Hiccup hid his face on the other's neck "Yeah, and I love you too, you snowman" he said softly. They both went back to the village later, celebrations lasting a day and a night, and, invaders forgotten, life went back to normal, just with a new addition to the already big family they all were.

And so the dream came true, the snow breaking away the dark and bringing with it peace and showing the small boy his true place in the world: ruling the tribe wisely, with his soul mate at his side, for the rest of their lives.


End file.
